Motorcycle Benefit Held for Multi-car Crash Victim

UPDATE: Motorcycles from near and far gathered in Fort Oglethorpe, Sunday afternoon for a benefit ride for a young woman seriously injured last month in a car accident. Kayla Godwin broke every vertebra in her back and neck and was airlifted to the hospital the night of her accident.

Sunday friends and family are raising money for her medical bills.

A parade of motorcycles and cars leave the Walmart in Fort Oglethorpe for a benefit ride for Kayla Godwin. Sunday's event was to help the family battling bills which are slowly beginning to build up. “Her mom isn't working at the moment, so you're still going to have utilities, bills, rent, whatever they see fit to get her where she needs to be, to get our Kayla back,” said event organizer, Nikki Estus.

Kayla was involved in a in a multi-vehicle crash in front of the Walmart in LaFayette back in October. Her road to recovery is still a lengthy one but she remains in good spirits. She says she is grateful for the community support. “Anything that is going to help my momma’ while I can't is awesome to me because she wouldn't tell me if she needed something. So when they told me they were going to be doing these benefit rides it made me happy people were going to come together to help me because that helps momma' while I can't work,” said Kayla Godwin.

Her mother had to leave her job to help take care of Kayla. She says the support the community is giving her family is a blessing. It’s something Tammy Godwin is humbled by. “I am thankful, so thankful. I am thankful she is still with me and blessed. Just the way the community came together to help. They will never know how much,” said Tammy Godwin.

As the dozens of riders strap on their helmets and make their way through the LaFayette area they hope to see Kayla riding with them this time next year. “She wants one, I told her yesterday I would teach her, but we got to get her 100 percent. We are going to do what we got to do to get her there,” said Jessica Ray, an event organizer.

All the money raised will go directly to the Godwin family. Kayla is hoping to return to school in the spring to be a nurse and work with cancer patients.

PREVIOUS STORY: Three people were hurt, two seriously, in a multi-vehicle crash in front of the Walmart in LaFayette on Highway 27, Monday night.

Authorities say three vehicles were involved, it shut down a portion of Highway 27 near Swanson Drive.

Two people in a truck were seriously hurt, one had to be air lifted to the hospital.

Another person in a second vehicle suffered minor injuries, a third person in the other car did not sustain any injuries.

All lanes of Highway 27 have been re-opened and traffic is flowing tonight.